The exemplary embodiment relates to a semiconductor apparatus and a method for producing it and, more particularly, to a semiconductor apparatus having a thin film transistor (TFT) matrix panel with electronic encryption and a method for producing it.
A thin film transistor (TFT) is special kind of field effect transistor (FET) made by depositing thin films for the metallic contacts, semiconductor active layer, and dielectric layer. Most TFTs are not transparent themselves, but their electrodes and interconnects can be.
Although the major application of TFT technology is currently in LCDs, there are many other microelectronic products that could benefit from this technology. For example, the large-area X-ray imager has been successfully fabricated by integrating amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs with p-i-n photodiodes over a glass substrate coated with an X-ray converter material. In addition, p-channel TFTs have been used to replace high-resistance loads in static random access memory (SRAM) devices. In another example, high-density and high-response-speed printer and fax machines fabricated with TFTs have also been demonstrated. By varying the gate-metal material and the operation condition, the TFT can be used as a chemical sensor, e.g., to detect changes in gas-phase hydrogen concentration or liquid-phase potassium concentration.
In addition, as described more fully below, a TFT array may be used as an electronic device that can be built directly on a silicon IC or a printed circuit board and fabricated in such a way that each device has a unique encoding built into its physical structure.